Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Old Footage Of Marilyn Monroe In Manhattan, Filmed By A Bronx Teen In 1955
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 4, 2013
Modified Jan 4, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 4, 2013
Modified Jan 4, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
In 1955, a scrawny 14-year-old boy from the Bronx got to spend an afternoon with Marilyn Monroe. Peter Mangone was fixated with the 29-year-old movie star, and had been skipping school (he attended James Monroe High School) in hopes of catching a glimpse of her outside of the Gladstone Hotel on East 52nd Street, where she stayed after divorce from Joe DiMaggio. And one day, Mangone got more than he ever hoped for.
Armed with an 8-mm Kodak camera, he spotted Monroe with her friends, photographer Milton Greene and fashion designer George Nardiello (who years later sewed Monroe into the dress she wore for President Kennedy's Madison Square Garden bash). When she saw Mangone, "she waved, winked and invited him along" on their shopping trip. Throughout the afternoon he filmed Monroe from just a few feet away—in total the silent film runs 5 ½ minutes.
Eventually Mangone misplaced the footage, which was rediscovered in 2002, found amongst his father's possessions in mint condition. At the time, Mangone said "it was like refinding my high school sweetheart. She was just the way I remembered her."
Last year, prior to Mangone's death in December, a book of stills from that day was published. The book will now have a release party at Danziger Gallery on January 10th (6 p.m.), where an exhibition titled Marilyn Monroe Rediscovered: The Lost Film of Peter Mongone will also take place.
Danziger Gallery is located at 527 West 23rd Street, where the exhibit will run from January 10th through February 9th. And here's Mangone talking to Katie Couric about that day in 1955:
Tagged
1955
flashback
history
Marilyn Monroe
peter mangone
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
Spoiler alert: It's still 26.2 miles.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 2:36 p.m. ET
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," says the co-owner of Art of Play.
By
Sonia Rao
Arts & Entertainment
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," says the co-owner of Art of Play.
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .